br>My 200e system arrived yesterday. Deposit to doorstep took exactly five months. Don was incredibly helpful and patient with me the entire time.

A few first thoughts:

- I will never, ever forget the first time I sat down, unfolded it and turned it on. Truly magical.

- Buchla is very generous with banana cables. I might end up ordering more (mainly for color options), but there were more than enough to get started.

- Yes, the pots are a little wobbly. No, it does not bother me. I was a little apprehensive about this coming into the 200e (I spend most of my time working with Manley and API gear), but any apprehension melted away in the first hour or so. Looking inside, the care with which this machine was designed and built is quite apparent.

- The 250e is an incredible sequencer. I've spent a lot of time with various hardware sequencers, and this is by far the best. Once I started to understand how it can work and how I could utilize it, the compositional possibilities were overwhelming. The opportunity for creating complex, recursive note structures is mind-blowing. I was particularly impressed by how it could do standard 16-step hardware sequencer work (a la Moog 960 / ARP Sequencer), but quickly shift into exotic, algorithmic structures. If being 'inspired' by a machine is possible, the 250e fits in that category for me - and I've only scratched the surface. (The 'sweep to set' function is genius, too.....)

- The 259e sounds amazing. Maybe it's just my aesthetic, but I find nothing offensive about the aliasing. I'm really glad I have it in along with the 261e (instead of just having two 261e's) - a great compliment and contrast exists between the two.

- Quadrature mode on the 281e is awesome, especially when processing the outputs with a 256e. While not exactly the same, it reminds of some of the processes I setup on the Serge using DTG's. Complex envelopes await.

- MIDI implementation is painless and powerful. Once I connected the 200e to Logic, I was surprised by how fast I started using the MIDI busses for all types of data and control. The same applies to saving / recalling presets: I was unsure how much I would really use the Preset Manager before I used it, but I ended up loving it more than I expected. Easy to use, and very useful.

There's a lot more, but this is what sprung first into my sleep-deprived mind......

My next project will be reorganizing the modules based on how I use them: having intense-use modules closer (like the 291e and the 250e) might make them easier to program. I found that I bumped the oscillators and knocked them out of tune a few times, so I might move them up to the top boat.

~

I've only had the chance to spend one evening with it, but the 200e completely surpassed my expectations. Despite all the reading and research I did in anticipation, there were more than a few 'Eureka' moments - I found myself laughing out loud at how wonderful several of the functions were. I'm sure in time I'll find things that frustrate and annoy me about it, but so far, it's better than I imagined. Worth every penny and all the waiting. br> br>

br>science

br>You got a new 259e already? That's great news if so! br> br>

br>Lyonel

br>
Pictures... Pictures... Pictures... !!! br> br>

br>mono-poly

br>Congrats!

And yeah this post is crap without pictures.

br> br>

br>buchlajoe

br>congratulations! i am sure you will continue to be amazed as you go along ... can you list the modules in your system? just curious .. jo br> br>

br>550b

br>I'll try to get pictures up tomorrow. I've got a long day of work before I can get back to it.......

science wrote:

You got a new 259e already? That's great news if so!

Not exactly..... my system has a 259e 'Complex Waveform Generator'.

When I ordered my system, the older 259e wasn't available, so I ordered two 261e's. After the new 'Twisted' 259e was announced, I modified my order to include one of each. Because the new ones haven't quite shipped yet, I expected a blank spot in my system. But, lo and behold, an old 259e was in it!

Or, at least, that's what I'm assuming it is. I'm not sure what the difference between the 'Twisted' 259e and the original 259e is. The module in my system looks like the 259e picture on the Buchla website, but the firmware (if I'm reading it right) is Version 10 - the website lists the highest version as 8. Perhaps it is 'Twisted', with an older faceplate?

I've read that the older 259e's can be 'Twisted' if you desire, so I'm not too worried about it - just happy to have a second waveform generator. br> br>

br>550b

br>Thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement. My system is made up of:

It will take me some time before I know whether this selection of modules is correct for my use, but the balance felt good in the short time I've had a chance to use them.

I've gathered that most people order the 18-space cabinet, but because I travel a lot (not to mention financial reasons), I decided to limit myself to a 12-panel cabinet. If I outgrow my current system, I'll probably get a second 12-space - the idea of having two independent systems (one for work, one for home) is attractive to me. There are a few modules out there that I'd like to hear at some point (especially the stuff that Mark Verbos is making), but for now, I want to devote myself to learning the modules in front of me. br> br>

br>2012

br>Glad you have your system,but i would never accept an (old) second hand 259e when i did pay and expect then logicaly to get the new one like announced ,thats just to crazy to write it in kind words.. br> br>

br>felix

br>Awesome! I'd love to hear about the 250e more, that's probably the one 200e module that I've yet to fully grasp. br> br>

br>xart

br>Last Friday must have been shipping day at B&A. I was surprised to come home to a door tag. For those keeping score, 1 year TO THE DAY we sent in our deposit. I do think sending it that day was DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s idea of a joke... We also have the 12u travel case and itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s GREAT if you travel all the time on public transportation! Like always, wigglers are always invited over to our studio to rock the Behringer and patch up a mean hoover! IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll even give you one of my famous bongo + banjo tutorials if you bring the beer and midi files so we can really fukc sh!t up. br> br>

br>550b

br>

2012 wrote:

Glad you have your system,but i would never accept an (old) second hand 259e when i did pay and expect then logicaly to get the new one like announced ,thats just to crazy to write it in kind words..

Actually, my previous plan (when I ordered two 261e's) was to try them out for awhile, then perhaps try to find a second-hand 259e (if I decided I wanted something different). I ended up getting what I hoped for, without really expecting it. If I don't like the 259e, I can upgrade it to a new one, or for a 261e. The warranty on it is the same, and it certainly doesn't look or feel 'used'.

It is a little unexpected, but I guess it's just not that big of a deal to me. I could be upset about it, or be happy that it worked out this way - I chose to be happy about it.

felix wrote:

Awesome! I'd love to hear about the 250e more, that's probably the one 200e module that I've yet to fully grasp.

It's going to take me a while - I will report back once I learn a little more.... br> br>

br>bwhittington

br>Ezra said the new 259e's were ready except for the front panels. I expect you may have gotten a new one with an old panel. Which is pretty freaking cool, I think.

Congratulations!

Regards,
Brian br> br>

br>science

br>It's strange, but even if it was an older, upgraded one... with the exchange policy, and new warranty, who cares?

I'd just be happy to have my synth, and exchange the 259e if I had an issue.

I really need to sit down in front of a 250e for a while and stop going back and forth on whether or not to order one. br> br>

br>Peake

br>Huge congratulations br> br>

br>ignatius

br>congrats man. sounds like you've found the instrument for you. enjoy it and please share some music w/us when you start recording it br> br>

I really need to sit down in front of a 250e for a while and stop going back and forth on whether or not to order one.

br> br>

br>550b

br>Again, thanks to everyone for the kind words. This forum has been very helpful and informative, and it made the wait a little easier.

science wrote:

I really need to sit down in front of a 250e for a while and stop going back and forth on whether or not to order one.

It's hard for me to recommend something without knowing your musical goals, but the 250e really stood out as a unique and powerful tool. The possibilities kept opening up in front me as I used it: recursive sequencer, probabilistic melody-maker, multi-stage function generator, stored voltages, etc..... so much potential in two small panel spaces!

Had time I spent last night been a simple demo session of someone else's 200e, I would've walked away feeling like the 250e was a necessary module. If I were putting a system together a module at a time, I would get one early on. But that's just me. br> br>

br>don h

br>

550b wrote:

Or, at least, that's what I'm assuming it is. I'm not sure what the difference between the 'Twisted' 259e and the original 259e is. The module in my system looks like the 259e picture on the Buchla website, but the firmware (if I'm reading it right) is Version 10 - the website lists the highest version as 8. Perhaps it is 'Twisted', with an older faceplate?

I've read that the older 259e's can be 'Twisted' if you desire, so I'm not too worried about it - just happy to have a second waveform generator.

The "twisted" is partially more erratic transfer functions, how they go about creating them is I think something they will release at some point.
Plus there's a couple other little goodies in there!
Originally, the 259e had a few tables that were particularly noisy in comparison to the greens or reds maybe, especially at full warp.
Recall that in the 259e, one takes a sine wave, and distorts it across a given transfer function. The green tables were derived from chebyshev polynomials. Using that approach, and setting the variables such to stay within certain bounds(less noisy) gives the function the ability to do things like sound like FM as in Yamaha(phase mod)
But at a computationally lower cost.
The red tables on the other hand I understand to be hand drawn.
All of them I think were selected(the original) based on musical judgements at B&A.
Waveshape synthesis can go far crazier, there are for example ideas like creating transfer functions at some warp value(the amplitude of the sine driving the function) to be sine, but at greater(or even lower warp) noisy,
near sheer(I've posted examples other places)
It can really do bunches, a lot of very weird, strange things can go on with the sound!
I'm gathering once the initial expectation of the new 200e having to be a rerun of the 200 was overcome by the general acceptance, the 259e which took things on the chin at the beginning was revisited.
And played with! br> br>

br>xart

br>

Lyonel wrote:

Pictures... Pictures... Pictures... !!!

br> br>

br>xart

br> br> br>

br>science

br> br> br>

br>DGTom

br>crazy like a fox! br> br>

br>bwhittington

br>Nice!

That reminds me of back in the day when I put a Harvard U alumni sticker in the rear window of my beat-up truck.